Yahoo prodigy opts for university

Written By andika jamanta on Rabu, 24 September 2014 | 23.58

The British teenager who sold his app for millions of pounds to Yahoo has decided to go to university in the UK rather than work full-time for the tech firm in California.

Nick D'Aloisio said he would, however, still continue to work on its news app.

The 18-year-old had previously managed to combine development of the service with his A-level studies.

Yahoo News Digest has been downloaded more than two million times, according to analytics firm Xyo.

"I am thrilled to be attending Oxford University in England where I will study computer science and philosophy," Mr D'Aloisio said.

"I'm excited to simultaneously complete my college degree while continuing part-time to manage Yahoo News Digest - especially at such an exciting time for summarisation, artificial intelligence and wearables."

Mr D'Aloisio told the BBC earlier this month that the team he managed at Yahoo was developing a version of the news summary app for both Apple Watch and smartwatches running Google's Android Wear.

The Londoner was only 16 years old when he secured a $250,000 (£154,000) investment in his text summary software from Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing.

A few months later Yahoo acquired the technology and his services, in a deal reported to be worth £20m.

Since taking up the role of project manager for the news app, the teenager has spoken at several high-profile public events including Yahoo's keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in January and O2's Campus Party in September.

A spokeswoman for Yahoo said he should now be able to get involved in the BBC's computer coding initiative - a series of television shows and other events designed to encourage people to learn to program - next year, "time permitting".